Compania de Navigaţie Maritimă Navrom from Romania has a dark blue flag with a narrow red horizontal stripe along the bottom, separated from the blue by a yellow fimbriation. Centered in the blue field, a yellow anchor with a heart-like dark red device behind.Jorge Candeias, 20 February 1999

Isn't Navrom the same as Compania de Navigaţie Maritimă? This image contribution from
Jorge Candeias is still, some 10 years and 5 editors later, waiting to be dated and rejoined to the original text contribution.António Martins-Tuválkin, 2 January 2009

Navrom has a webpage, from which I've learned that it is a Romanian fluvial navigation company. Compania de Navigaţie Maritimă means simply Maritime Navigation Company. In Romania there are several such companies and I couldn't spot that flag anywhere yet.Alex Danes, 3 January 2009

Captain Andrian Mihei founded Carmar shipping (http://www.carmar.ro
- no flag found, just a logo) in 1990; he created in April 1993 the new company
Mihei Shipping and Trade Ltd and was the first Romanian private ship-owner of a
dry cargo vessel 3025 dwt 'Irina M'. At present the company has two vessels,
apparently mainly active in river transport. Jarig Bakker, 24 October 2003

I've found the flag of Navrom shipping line on a stamp. It seems that the proportions of the letters, anchor and stripes are different, so I redrew the flag.Alex Danes, 2 January 2009

Navrom has a webpage, from which I've learned that it is a Romanian fluvial navigation company.Alex Danes, 3 January 2009

Navrom flag image on this page: www.danube-research.com, confirms FOTW-ws's first image, however, the stamp shows a flag which is much better "readable".
Intrigued at the first message of this series, I checked out Navrom's website and found what seems to be yet another flag here: page 1 of a pdf file. Blue field, red central portion with yellow anchor? see also current logo at the very end of this pdf file.Jan Mertens, 4 January 2009

The flag you mentioned is in fact the flag of Galatzi county, where Navrom
Romanian Fluvial Navigation Company has its main seat (here is the coat of arms of Galatzi county). The old flag of
Navrom can be spotted in the first picture, on top of "Tudor Vladimirescu"
boat.

I'm very confused about the Fluvial and Maritime Navrom. The seat of the
last one is in Constantza, but the Fluvial company itself has an
office in Constantza. I'm still digging it.Alex Danes, 4 January 2009

Compania de Navigatie Maritima NAVROM S.A. According to Lloyds it was
one of three private companies formed out of the previous state owned
NAVROM in 1990. It operated a small fleet of general cargo ships and
one other small special type vessel but was not successful and filed
for bankruptcy in 1999 with the sale of its ships completed early
2006. This flag would appear to have been derived from the original
NAVROM flag.

Compania de Navigatie Fluviala Româna (NAVROM) S.A. is the company for
whom the website noted by Alex covers. It originated 8.8.1890 as
Navigatia Fluviala Româna being formed by the Government of Romania
and was based in Galati being involved in river transportation. In
1991 Navigatie [this is their spelling change] Fluviala was
reorganized with the formation of Compania de Navigatie Fluviala
Româna "NAVROM" S.A. which was privatized in 1998 and in 1999 there
was restructuring leading to the creation of the current Navrom group
of companies. Going by Walter Michaels in his 1967 book "Unvergessene
Dampfschiffahrt auf Rhein und Donau" which gives the Donau [Danube]
shipping history up until 1967, the vessels at that stage wore the
main NAVROM [Navigatia Maritima si Fluviala Româna] colours. Now that
they are privatized that no longer applies especially as, although the
website does not so state, they are now a 100% subsidiary of
Transport Trade Services S.A. and going by one source is now known as
CNFR Navrom Galati S.A.

The flags shown in FOTW under Compania de Navigatie Fluviala Navrom,
as outlined above, relate to the overall shipping authority installed
by the Communist Government post WW2 apparently around 1960 [certainly
by 1963]. NAVROM or Navigatia Maritima si Fluviala Româna which is
also shown as Navegacul Romana or Navrom Romanian Maritime & Fluvial
Navigation. Fluvial = River so they covered all shipping including
inland except for the fishing fleet which came under NAVROM Tulcea
(Ministerul Industrei Alimentare) but all used the same livery it
seems. The flag shown by Dane is confirmed as the one applying
initially [at least] under this set up being shown by Walter Michels
in "Unvergessene Dampfschiffahrt auf Rhein und Donau" 1967 which
includes the up to date situation on the Donau [Danube]. I say
initially as there may have been changes in line with changes to the
set up for by the mid 1980s Lloyds shown the main merchant fleet as
Intreprinderea de Exploatare a Floti Maritime NAVROM [Enterprise
Operations Fleet Maritime NAVROM] whilst the river shipping was under
its own heading. This may have some bearing on Jarig's flag from Brown
1995, where it appears as Navrom Shipping, as it also appears in the
1982 edition just as Navrom. The 1995 name given by Brown 1995 is
explained by the fact that subsequent editions of Lloyds showed a
split with Intreprinderea de Exploatare a Floti Maritime NAVROM
handling tugs and harbour craft and Navrom Shipping Company handling
the cargo fleet. This was subsequently expanded by the explanation
that in 1990 the Romanian Government privatized their merchant fleet
into 3 companies - – Romline ["C.N.M. Romline" Shipping Co. S.A.],
Navrom [Compañia de Navigatie Maritima Navrom S.A.] and Petromin
[Compañia de Navigatie Maritime Petromin S.A.] with the river shipping
also going their own way as outlined above. So I would imagine that
the NAVROM flags as shown only lasted until 1990 with the new "Navrom"
having the flag shown by Jorge and Romline [since folded] and Petromin
possibly also having new colours.

I have found the flag referred to by Jan on the pdf file on Compania
de Navigatie Fluviala Navrom website but the file appears to a
historical summary and the ships shown no longer form part of their
fleet – certainly they are not included in Lloyds or in the company
pdf fleet download. I agree that the "Tudor Vladimirescu" seems to be
flying the NAVROM flag but that merely supports my understanding that
it was standard flag for the Communist Government era for all
shipping.

NAVROM was based in Bucharest but by the end of the 1980s, going by
Lloyds, HQ had shifted to Constantza. The Fluvial company still has
its HQ at Galati and a branch at Constantza but there is now no
connection as a result of the privatisation program between the
current Navrom and its ancestors.Neale Rosanoski, 11 January 2009

I've noticed that the Romanian flag shown on the poop (stern) of "Tudor Vladimirescu" ship shows no communist coat of arms, meaning that the photograph was taken after 1990. Between 1993 and 2003 the ship has not been used, so the photo is either from 1990-1993 or 2003-present.Alex Danes, 12 January 2009

image by Marinel Chiriac,
2 May 2015

The Romanian Shipping Company (founded in 1954) with the head office in
Constanta-Port, RO, did operate sea-going vessels and servitude vessels within
Black Sea ports. All its vessels and watercrafts used only the attached
company's flag (I am not able to tell you dimensions as there were 2 flags in
use one with diff. dimensions) until the late 1990s when this company
unfortunately ceased its activity. There was another Navrom operating only
on Danube river/ports using a similar flag until 1990.Marinel Chiriac,
2 May 2015

Prima Societate Naţională de Navigaţie Maritimă means The First National Company of Maritime Navigation.Alex Danes, 3 January 2009

Also shown as Romania Prima Societate Nationale (sic!) de Navigazione Maritima which was
formed about 1914 and in 1933 came under the control of Alexandre
Vlasov who in 1934 officially renamed it Alexandre Vlasov Societetate
de Navigazione but continued to trade under the original name. Hence
Talbot Booth between 1937 and 1944 shows the flag as A. Vlasev (sic!)
then Alex Vlasov. As a result of WW2 the company lost its ships and
was not revived. Vlasov was the founder of the current V Ships Group.Neale Rosanoski, 4 January 2009

Serviciul Maritim Român, Bucharest: blue with a red canton bearing yellow letters SMR, a yellow emblem near the fly edge consisting of an crowned yellow anchor (funnel: white with narrow black band at the top).
The red canton is 1/3 of the flag's height and 1/2 of the flag's length as far
as I can see. The crowned anchor in
the fly almost fully occupies 1/3 of the flag, at the fly's end. There is also a
small circle centered on the anchor I cannot identify, it may be part of an
artistically twisted cable or perhaps a post horn?

"The S.M.R.:
In 1895, based on the law adopted on 7.06.1888, the Romanian Maritime
Service (= Serviciul Maritim Român or S.M.R.) was established to
provide sea transport to and from the Levant. On the continent,
S.M.R. had direct connection with the Paris - Ostende - Bucharest -
Constanta express train, the rapid train from Berlin and the Romanian
express trains. The first Constanta - Constantinople route was opened
on 26.09.1895."

Jan Mertens, 26 October 2003

The
Mystic Seaport Foundation website (flag no. 1794 on p. 87 of chapter
"House Flags and Funnels of Steam Vessels") shows the canton occupying a full
quarter of the flag.Jan Mertens, 22 December 2003

The Maritime Timetable link to a brochure (valid till? or from? 30 June 1937) shows the house
flag. Now here's a direct link to No. 1794 in the on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags &
Funnels and the emblem is on the right! A mistake, or perhaps an earlier version? All
this concerns not the emblem itself (crowned anchor and decorative ribbons as
far as I can see, possibly a screw behind the anchor in Lloyds), only its
position in the flag.Jan Mertens, 13 January 2005

It appears that every source has a different
version and I now have six as shown form the following sources (images by Neale Rosanoski):

Lloyds 1904 [S811] which appears to show an anchor intertwined
with an eagle in red and brown, wings elevated, with above a red crown
supported by 2 yellow ?, at the base of the anchor the red letters "S"
and "M" above the flukes on either side of the shaft and below a red
"R"., Lloyds 1912 [S812] which appears to show a crowned
anchor with a black chain hanging down the dexter side, emitting white
lightning flashes and having 3 yellow and red objects attached midway,
Lloyd Reedereiflaggen 1933 [S813] with a crown and foul
anchor, Brown 1934 [S814] letters, crown and foul anchor all
aslant, Talbot-Booth 1937-1944 [S815] with crown and foul
anchor, plus the image as shown from Brown 1951 [ro~smr.gif].

I have found an 1897 poster on wikipedia which shows a design in line
with Lloyds 1912 with a crowned anchor appearing to be tied with a
ribbon or some such. Reminds me of the crowned anchor on the Lloyd
Austrico flag. I assume that this was a government controlled company
so the emblem presumably has a royal or governmental basis.

The 1937 timetable image would appear to have a possible connection
with the Brown 1934 rendering although Brown slants the anchor whilst
the timetable has it erect. In both cases I find the positioning of
the letters somewhat strange.

The SRD or "Societatea Anonimă Română de Navigaţiune pe Dunăre" was a
Romanian shipping company, shares of which appear in auctions now and then, but
usually without house flag. Now however it has shown up - direct
link to such an offer, a 1937 share:
http://www.okazii.ro/catalog/.
The tiny photo in the lower right corner is clickable and is the source of the
image above. The flag field seems to be completely yellow but on
inspection a darker central horizontal stripe appears (which colour?
blue??); in any case the company initials ‘SRD’, heavily stylized and
intertwined, in white, appear in the centre.

The German scripophily auction site HSHW recently had the same share on
offer and helpfully informs that above firm (stl “Romanian Danube Navigation
Co. Ltd", jm) was founded in 1914, the result of a merger of several
companies, building up a fleet of about 120 vessels: towboats, tankers,
tugs, passenger ships for local lines, etc. including cross-border
transportation. Seat was Bucharest; the company does not seem to have
survived WWII.
Webpage (see Auction XXIII – Page 5 - No. 361):
http://www.historische-wertpapiere.de/Jan Mertens, 28 May 2007